Reviews

"It's Downtown, but it's not"

The “Demonbreun” area as outlined by StreetAdvisor is part of what the locals call “Downtown,” so a lot of what I said in the “Downtown” section will apply here, as well.

Here you’ll still find a high cost of living, and you’ll still find traffic and tourists. But most of the streets are a little wider here. And while the current Convention Center and the Country Music Hall of Fame of course contribute their fair share of pedestrian traffic, the size of Broadway makes it seem less cumbersome.

If you’re looking at renting and owning property down here, the big news right now is still the Flood of 2010. I’m told that Joe’s Crab Shack, down on 2nd and Shelby, had to completely replace their roof before they could re-open. Floods that deep don’t happen often around here—it’s been nearly 100 years since the last one—but do your homework before you commit.

This region is also home to Riverfront Station, where a commuter train runs to and from outlying counties several times per day. The station was also wrecked by the flood, but is now gorgeously restored and open for business.

Riverfront Station is also a boarding point for Grayline Tours, and it’s a checkpoint for Nashville’s new rent-a-bike program. Here you can pay a small fee and rent a bicycle for the day. All metro buses have bike racks, making this a great way to get around in mild weather.

Both lines of the free Music City Circuit bus pick up and drop off at Riverfront. At least eleven different Metro bus routes also run through the "Demonbreun" area.

"Connection Between Downtown and Music Row!"

Well known by those who are new to the city and well known to those individuals who have been in the city for quite some time, Demonbruen is the street well known for being home to the numerous Country Music gift shops of yesteryear. The gift shops have long been gone and the street is now busy with individuals traveling into the city from outlying areas. The street will connect you from Music Row to Downtown as well as from the Vanderbilt University area to downtown.

Vanderbilt University, West End and Charlotte Pike are nearby. Vanderbilt University is not just a university but is also home to the Vanderbilt Childrens Hospital or Monroe Carroll Childrens Hospital where a number of country music stars babies are born each year. Not to far from Vanderbilt is the Baptist Hospital and this is another popular choice for the stars to use to bring their babies into the world.

Demonbruen Street is home to the mass venues that look for a popular hangout with the college kids as well as those tourists who are visiting the area for the first time. With a new condo tower just built and large office complexes, there are a number of restaurants in the area as well. The famous Dan McGuinness tavern is well known for its Irish beer and Thursday night Fish Fry. The Tin Roof is home to numerous country music stars who are all looking to hit in big in the Nashville Recording studies. Once famous, many stars choose to come back and revisit and perform for the Nashville Residents in the Tin Roof.

The area has a number of buses which operate daily and all hours of the day to get you from Downtown Nashville to other areas as well. The bus route will take you to the bus terminal where you can catch a number of other buses to travel around the city. If you are looking for a neat experience, take a tour of the city from the back of a carriage being drawn by horses. This is a popular choice during the colder months when the city is lit up from Christmas lights and the bars along the strip are lit up.

"Demonbreun--becoming more of a destination all the time"

How you pronounce the name of this street alerts people to whether you are new to town. If you pronounce it like it looks--demon brewin', we know you are not from here. The correct pronunciation is deemunbreeun. With the accent on the mun. Now, we're talking

Demonbreun for the most part is a connecting street between Vanderbilt and Music Row and downtown. For many years, country music gift shops lined the street.

Now, it is becoming more of a destination in itself. A large office complex, a new condo tower, and several condo developments within walking distance, as well as a panoply of restaurants and bars have brought new life to the area. Establishments include Dan McGuinness and the Tin Roof. One of my favorite shoe stores, Off Broadway Shoes, is located there too.

No discussion about Demonbreun would be complete without a mention of the Musica statue at the nearby roundabout where Division Street meets 17th Ave. South. The statute was unveiled in 2003 and sparked some controversy because its nine figures are naked. Despite the controrversy, the statue has remained. This past St. Patrick's day, a group put kilts on the figures for fun.